Reince Priebus: Darrell Issa to have ‘quite a summer’

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Tuesday that House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) will be having “quite a summer” investigating the IRS controversy plaguing the White House.

“If [President Barack Obama] did not know anything, then I think it suggests a level of aloofness or perhaps even incompetence that I think is pretty disturbing in its own right,” Priebus said on Fox News. “This is not the end of the line, it’s just the beginning, and I’ve got a good feeling that Darrell Issa is going to be having quite a summer in reviewing what’s been going on here in the White House as far as this scandal is concerned.”

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IRS officials are being investigated for unfairly targeting conservative organizations that were seeking nonprofit status. Priebus called it “un-American” and said that he hopes the controversy ends up helping the organizations that were singled out.

“It’s pretty offensive. It’s not just offensive, it’s un-American […and] I hope that it actually helps these organizations but what this is it’s targeting in the worst way — politically,” Priebus said.

Priebus also responded to former Senate Majority Leader and Bob Dole, who said on “Fox News Sunday” that the GOP should “put a sign on the National Committee doors that says ‘Closed for repairs,’ until New Year’s Day next year and spend that time going over ideas and positive agendas.”

“…Look, we cannot be closed. We’ve got a race in New Jersey, Virginia, we have a good shot up in [Massachusetts,] we’ve got to hold the House and win the Senate,” Priebus said on Fox News. “Closing I think in his mind means doing some reflection and making big time improvements and getting better at presidential elections. In the mid terms, I expect us to do very well. It’s a matter of coming back bigger and stronger as a national party in 3.5 years. But in the meantime, we have big time work to do.”